In less than two weeks the Catholic Church in the United States will implement the new changes to the Mass. I must confess that I have honestly tried to avoid learning very many specifics of what these changes consist of, confident that there will not be a single one with which I will agree. Nevertheless, I believe it is safe to say that the changes in language will in every instance be a move away from the ordinary language of the people to a formal, stilted, and obsolete phraseology.
Let's just take 'Et Cum Spiritu tuo'. The literal translation of course is 'and with your spirit', and that is the idea, literal translations of the original Mass texts. So 'and with you also' becomes and with your spirit. The problem of course is that a literal translation is not always the best translation, because it does not always reflect what the person wanted to convey. That phraseology may have been perfect 1500years ago, but that doesn't mean it gives the best sense of what the author of these words was trying to say. The Lord be with you, and with you also. Have we really improved our worship by saying and with your spirit. I mentioned this to my wife recently and she asked what does 'and with your spirit' mean. Of course we are going to teach her what it means and that will solve the problem.
How about Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof? The context doesn't even work. This is about coming into my home to heal a sick individual. For most of us it doesn't really relate to receiving communion. Its jarring, and once again the question becomes what does this mean. Is it talking about coming under the roof of my mouth? I know I thought that when I made my first communion. How can this be an improvement over 'Lord I am not worthy that you should come to me'? Why shouldn't our people in the pews every week be allowed to say prayers that make sense and are related to the current culture in which they live? What do we gain by using language that is no longer the language of the people?
This is a useless discussion of course because those with the power have made the decision and that is what it will be. They simply don't care what anybody else thinks. There are, however, a couple of points that I think are worth making. First I find it fascinating how the clergy is suddenly 'gung ho' about how wonderful the new translation is, and how much it will enhance everybody's appreciation of the liturgy and deepen the spiritual response to the sacred texts. I don't believe it for a minute. A couple of months ago I spoke to a priest friend who talked about how horrible this new translation is. I'm pretty sure he has not said one negative word to his parishioners. Its distrurbing to think how power can impose it's will on those it rules and forces to do its bidding. Totally forgotten are the battles the Bishops fought not so many years ago to prevent this new translation from being implemented. Of course Rome's response has effectively been to change the Bishops. I'm pretty sure no priest over 50 thinks this is a good idea but all are falling into line.
Secondly how is it that some commission in Rome can know how we folks in the pews in Maryland can best express our prayers of praise, petition, etc to God. We are talking about a commission that even lacks the day to day involement with the English language as it is spoken and used in the United States. What is this conformity all about? Why not have parishoners under the guidance and direction of the pastor choose words and phrases that they can relate to, and maybe have different texts for the childrens Mass, the teen contemporary Mass, and the Mass for the old folks like us? The decision to require everything and every word to be determined by Rome simply brings home to us more and more that this Church is not concerned with the lives and needs of its people but rather wants everyone to simply conform to its way of operation.
Finally, the reality is that these changes are minor and not so important in the overall scheme of things. This is of course one of the reasons the Church can get away with such a backward looking move. How upset can one become over word changes in a few of the regular parts of the Mass? Most of us will barely notice the changes as we continue with our usual attentiveness at Mass. It reflects, however, a heirarchy that has forgotten the Gospel message. It is a heirarchy that protects itself as it did in the sex abuse crisis. It is a heirarchy that stifles dissent which has severely impaired it as a prophetic voice and impaired its ability to develop new and creative approaches to the modern day challenges it faces. The Church has lost much of its ability to speak for the downtrodden, to speak on immigration reform, to command the respect of the lay people in the pews. It has become a heirarchy that has forgotten to live the gospel message of serving rather than being served, and recognizing as Paul did the charisms that exist in every segment of the People of God. The Bishops are not constitutive of the Church, and the time has come for all members of the Church to insist that their ideas, beliefs, and perceptions matter too.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Top Ten Bizarre Ideas From The 2012 Campaign
I don't know if these are the top ten bizarre ideas of Campaign 2012, but there are so many to choose from it is difficult to tell. We are bombarded with ideas that are almost impossible to believe are being said seriously, yet are treated by that famous liberal main stream media as if they are rational and deserve to be on an equal footing as more thoughtful reasonable ideas. Let me just share a few of these bizarre notions in no particular order.
#10 Speaking out about injustice represents class warfare. Seeking to help people without jobs, find jobs, is class warfare? We have just had a report by the non partisan Congressional Budget Office that shows the rich have quadrupled their income since 1979, so there is indeed class warfare, but it is something the rich have successfully engaged in over the last few decades. Now when someone voices concern about this growing inequality they are instigating class warfare? It boggles the mind. How wide does the gap have to be between rich and poor before Republicans will be satisfied that the gap is wide enough? We have the most unequal income distribution of all advanced western democracies and our policies are to blame. Isn't it about time we develop policies that might help redress this inequality? How can someone like Eric Cantor accuse Democrats of class warfare with a straight face?
#9 We must continue to reduce taxes on the Job Creators. It is like being blackmailed. Give us what we want and we may hire a few people. But what happens? You give them what they ask for and then they want more, just like a blackmailer. How many times have their taxes been reduced already and yet we have seen no job creation. Calling these people job creators is truly bizarre. Let them create some jobs and then maybe they can be called job creators.
#8 The stimulus has failed. Well, it is true, that the stimulus did not put enough people back to work. But what has happened since it ended is proof of its efficacy. The stimulus kept the states from going bankrupt. It kept firemen, teachers and policemen on the job. Now the states are losing thousands and thousands of employees each month. We may well have entered a true depression without this stimulus.
#7 The President has failed to show leadership. Lack of leadership is evident to critics every time the President fails to support what the Republican leaders in the House and Senate want. Where he has had more of a free hand Obama has led quietly but effectively in Egypt and Lybia. He did not shy away from going after and eliminating Osama Ben Laden, and he was instrumental in bringing Khadaffy to justice. He has also made repeated efforts to reach out his hand to Republicans to get something done and they have turned their backs on him. This is not a failure of leadership but a failure of statesmanship and an unwillingness to put country ahead of party by Republicans. They have proven that if you make up your mind to reject anything and everything that is proposed, whether you think it good or not, you can prevent anything from being done.
#6 Businesses need certainty. What does this mean? It seems to mean that only when every whim of business has been accepted and agreed to will businss folk begin hiring or trying to help their country. If you want us to hire, then do what we tell you. Eliminate regulations, not becasue they are bad but because we don't like them. Again, blackmail.
#5 Regulations are killing business and need to be eliminated. It was the lack of regulation that enabled the Wall Street collapse to occur. Are there regulations that are unnecessary and perhaps constrict appropriate business growth and behavior? Possibly. Tell us what they are. But to say that regulation is bad makes no sense. We don't want our food supply protected to prevent the spread of diseases to our people? This is not a government responsibility? Business can be trusted to police itself? Again there is a lack of seriousness in this conversation that prevents a meaningful approach to the challenges we face.
#4 Candidate Ron Paul recently suggested eliminating 225,000 federal jobs. When we are trying to put our people back to work, how can it make sense to eliminate a quarter of a million jobs? Is it OK because they are government jobs? Do our American citizens who work for the government not count? As we look at the job statistics each month we are seeing growth in private indudstry jobs and losses in government jobs? These losses are hurting our ability to reduce unemployment. They may be government jobs, but they are real people with real jobs; including, firemen, policemen. teachers, etc. How do we help the employment situation by eliminating government jobs???
#3 Candidate Mitt Romney recently said to just let all foreclosures go forward. Do nothing to help people who are struggling to stay in their homes. Just let the banks have the homes. This is a complicated issue, so why do we have supposedly serious candidates just ignoring the realities again of real people with real problems. In many cases these problems are not of the peoples' own making, but the result of inappropriate decisions by the very banks that Romney want us to give the foreclosed homes to.
#2 Candidate Rick Perry described a recent 20% flat tax proposal that would increase taxes on the poor and the middle class while decreasing taxes on the wealthy. He also said he didn't care what burden it might create for the poor or middle class as long as he could reduce the burden on the wealthy. No one denies that simplifying the tax code is a worthy goal, but if it is to be used as a smoke screen for greater inequality and unfairness it is not at all helpful.
#1 The number one bizarre notion of the 2012 camaign is our inability to have reasonable conversations about the challenges we face. These are serious times and the Republicans have fielded a slate of candidates that no one can take seriously. President Obama is legitimately vulnerable, but the Republican field is a joke, and the Republican primary voters seem uninterested in responsible dialogue. The candidates have obliged these angry and confused primary voters by refusing to talk in a meaningful way about any serious issue. Whether it is a refusal to put revenue enhancements on the table, or accusing Democrats of class warfare the Republicans are coming to the table with bankrupt ideas. Their party and this country deserves better than that. As a former Republican myself I thing the likes of a Dwight Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and even Ronald Reagan, deserve better than what has been provided so far. It is time this Republican field be held accountable for their failure to offer any worthwhile ideas to a country in need of them.
It is bizarre to refuse to put revenue enhancements on the table. It is bizarre to think cuts can be made in entitlements without building consensus from all parties. While Democrats are saying no to entitlement cuts, that is primarily because of the Republican attitude that they can make these decisions without anyone else's input. Look what happened in Ohio when Republicans thought they could eliminate worker rights and nobody would notice or care. If Republicans chose to work in a bipartisan manner to deal with entitlements responsible Democrats would get on board, but where are the responsible Republicans?
It is bizarre if the Republican party cannot accept the simple reality that our current challenges require our politicians working together to develop genuine private public partnerships that will advance the goals of our country. It is essential to invest in necessary infrastructure, to generate needed revenue, and to recapture our global advantages in the industries and technology that the world is embracing today. Industry nor government can do it alone and that is the fundamental imperative that all must embrace. My articles on the Federalist Papers demonstrate that our founding fathers understood the need to do what is right for the country, and never once envisioned the Constitution as a way to restrain men of goodwill in industry and government from doing what was necessary to maintain and enhance American Exceptionalism.
#10 Speaking out about injustice represents class warfare. Seeking to help people without jobs, find jobs, is class warfare? We have just had a report by the non partisan Congressional Budget Office that shows the rich have quadrupled their income since 1979, so there is indeed class warfare, but it is something the rich have successfully engaged in over the last few decades. Now when someone voices concern about this growing inequality they are instigating class warfare? It boggles the mind. How wide does the gap have to be between rich and poor before Republicans will be satisfied that the gap is wide enough? We have the most unequal income distribution of all advanced western democracies and our policies are to blame. Isn't it about time we develop policies that might help redress this inequality? How can someone like Eric Cantor accuse Democrats of class warfare with a straight face?
#9 We must continue to reduce taxes on the Job Creators. It is like being blackmailed. Give us what we want and we may hire a few people. But what happens? You give them what they ask for and then they want more, just like a blackmailer. How many times have their taxes been reduced already and yet we have seen no job creation. Calling these people job creators is truly bizarre. Let them create some jobs and then maybe they can be called job creators.
#8 The stimulus has failed. Well, it is true, that the stimulus did not put enough people back to work. But what has happened since it ended is proof of its efficacy. The stimulus kept the states from going bankrupt. It kept firemen, teachers and policemen on the job. Now the states are losing thousands and thousands of employees each month. We may well have entered a true depression without this stimulus.
#7 The President has failed to show leadership. Lack of leadership is evident to critics every time the President fails to support what the Republican leaders in the House and Senate want. Where he has had more of a free hand Obama has led quietly but effectively in Egypt and Lybia. He did not shy away from going after and eliminating Osama Ben Laden, and he was instrumental in bringing Khadaffy to justice. He has also made repeated efforts to reach out his hand to Republicans to get something done and they have turned their backs on him. This is not a failure of leadership but a failure of statesmanship and an unwillingness to put country ahead of party by Republicans. They have proven that if you make up your mind to reject anything and everything that is proposed, whether you think it good or not, you can prevent anything from being done.
#6 Businesses need certainty. What does this mean? It seems to mean that only when every whim of business has been accepted and agreed to will businss folk begin hiring or trying to help their country. If you want us to hire, then do what we tell you. Eliminate regulations, not becasue they are bad but because we don't like them. Again, blackmail.
#5 Regulations are killing business and need to be eliminated. It was the lack of regulation that enabled the Wall Street collapse to occur. Are there regulations that are unnecessary and perhaps constrict appropriate business growth and behavior? Possibly. Tell us what they are. But to say that regulation is bad makes no sense. We don't want our food supply protected to prevent the spread of diseases to our people? This is not a government responsibility? Business can be trusted to police itself? Again there is a lack of seriousness in this conversation that prevents a meaningful approach to the challenges we face.
#4 Candidate Ron Paul recently suggested eliminating 225,000 federal jobs. When we are trying to put our people back to work, how can it make sense to eliminate a quarter of a million jobs? Is it OK because they are government jobs? Do our American citizens who work for the government not count? As we look at the job statistics each month we are seeing growth in private indudstry jobs and losses in government jobs? These losses are hurting our ability to reduce unemployment. They may be government jobs, but they are real people with real jobs; including, firemen, policemen. teachers, etc. How do we help the employment situation by eliminating government jobs???
#3 Candidate Mitt Romney recently said to just let all foreclosures go forward. Do nothing to help people who are struggling to stay in their homes. Just let the banks have the homes. This is a complicated issue, so why do we have supposedly serious candidates just ignoring the realities again of real people with real problems. In many cases these problems are not of the peoples' own making, but the result of inappropriate decisions by the very banks that Romney want us to give the foreclosed homes to.
#2 Candidate Rick Perry described a recent 20% flat tax proposal that would increase taxes on the poor and the middle class while decreasing taxes on the wealthy. He also said he didn't care what burden it might create for the poor or middle class as long as he could reduce the burden on the wealthy. No one denies that simplifying the tax code is a worthy goal, but if it is to be used as a smoke screen for greater inequality and unfairness it is not at all helpful.
#1 The number one bizarre notion of the 2012 camaign is our inability to have reasonable conversations about the challenges we face. These are serious times and the Republicans have fielded a slate of candidates that no one can take seriously. President Obama is legitimately vulnerable, but the Republican field is a joke, and the Republican primary voters seem uninterested in responsible dialogue. The candidates have obliged these angry and confused primary voters by refusing to talk in a meaningful way about any serious issue. Whether it is a refusal to put revenue enhancements on the table, or accusing Democrats of class warfare the Republicans are coming to the table with bankrupt ideas. Their party and this country deserves better than that. As a former Republican myself I thing the likes of a Dwight Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and even Ronald Reagan, deserve better than what has been provided so far. It is time this Republican field be held accountable for their failure to offer any worthwhile ideas to a country in need of them.
It is bizarre to refuse to put revenue enhancements on the table. It is bizarre to think cuts can be made in entitlements without building consensus from all parties. While Democrats are saying no to entitlement cuts, that is primarily because of the Republican attitude that they can make these decisions without anyone else's input. Look what happened in Ohio when Republicans thought they could eliminate worker rights and nobody would notice or care. If Republicans chose to work in a bipartisan manner to deal with entitlements responsible Democrats would get on board, but where are the responsible Republicans?
It is bizarre if the Republican party cannot accept the simple reality that our current challenges require our politicians working together to develop genuine private public partnerships that will advance the goals of our country. It is essential to invest in necessary infrastructure, to generate needed revenue, and to recapture our global advantages in the industries and technology that the world is embracing today. Industry nor government can do it alone and that is the fundamental imperative that all must embrace. My articles on the Federalist Papers demonstrate that our founding fathers understood the need to do what is right for the country, and never once envisioned the Constitution as a way to restrain men of goodwill in industry and government from doing what was necessary to maintain and enhance American Exceptionalism.
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